Month: July 2017

With an intense focus on improving student literacy, The Success Academy is redefining and revitalizing the possibilities for public education.

The Success Academy, which was launched in 2006, is New York City’s largest and highest performing free, public charter school network. Charter schools are publicly funded but privately operated.

The 41 schools, that span across Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens, currently boast 14,000 students, primarily low-income children of color in underprivileged neighborhoods.

Eva Moskowitz, Success Academy’s founder and chief executive, is a former teacher, college professor, elected official as well as a public school parent. According to Moskowitz, she launched the school with two objectives in mind: to open high performing schools and to mainly make education better.

On proficiency tests, the school ranked in the top 0.3 percent in math and the top 1.5 percent in English among all New York State schools last year.

Success Academy has cultivated its own English Language Arts curriculum, which include writing workshops, THINK Literacy and its own Math curriculum, which include a carefully set of designed activities.

THINK Literacy provides teachers with training on what and how to teach as well as developing fundamental thinking skills.

Moskowitz said in a statement the school intends to pick up the pace for better educational changes and improvements across the country.

Success Academy recently revealed it will be making the school’s Education Institute, (www.successacademies.org/edinstitute), available to educators around the country.

The online platform shares parts of the school’s design, access to the curriculum information for planning, managing and carrying out the work of education.

This year Success Academy schools received more than 17,000 applications for less than 3,000 open seats. The U. S. Department of Education awarded the Success Academy a National Blue Ribbon and the charter school received the Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools.

Betsy DeVos is one of the most discussed women in American politics today. One of the most recent responsibilities that Betsy DeVos carries is her having been appointed to the position of US Secretary of Education. She had been previously active in politics as well but never to such extent. She had mostly been present in the political scene in her role as a campaign contributor to the party of the Republicans.

Political involvement is not the only aspect of her career. Betsy DeVos is also a businesswoman and a leader. She has been occupying a vast number of positions that put her almost on top of organizations, boards, and committees. She is the chief executive officer of the Windquest Group which was established by her husband many years ago. Betsy DeVos is also one of the leaders of the Dick and Betsy Family Foundation. In prior years, Betsy used to work as finance chairperson and a variety of management positions. Read more about her philanthropy at MLive.com.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Prince was born in the state of Michigan. The Prince family carries a famous name that has also been given to the Prince Corporation. Most of the members of the family are heavily involved both in business and philanthropy. Edgar and Elsa Prince have donated a fortune to a vast number of charities and foundations. She studied locally in her town’s Christian high school. After that, she moved from Holland, Michigan to Grand Rapids where she attended the Calvin College and graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Growing up, Betsy DeVos had been showing a natural interest in politics and business. She was very involved in campus politics, and she would often take up projects and lead teams.

Betsy DeVos has been a significant contributor to a large number of charities. On the forefront of her donations had been the education sector for many years now. Both she and her husband Richard DeVos have been investing heavily in schools, universities, and Christian education groups. Some of the institutions on the list are the Cornell University’s Weill Corner Medical Centre, several of the Success Academy Charter Schools, the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, the School of Missionary Aviation Technology, and much more.

A couple of decades ago, in 1989, Betsy and Richard DeVos established a charity foundation as well. They called it the Dick and Betsy Family Foundation. The foundation has a focus on education and arts, as well as social justice and community. The couple has donated a fortune as individuals, as a couple, and through their Family Foundation. So far, Betsy DeVos has donated more than a billion of dollars to a variety of causes including charity and political campaign. She has also fundraised millions of dollars. Visit the website U.S. Department of Education to know more.

Alexandre Gama also known as “Gama” is a Brazilian businessman who made history by becoming the forefront of a network of interconnected agencies in the communications sector. He, for a major achievement, is the only Brazilian to be on the Global Creative Board from 1996 to early 2016. Alexandre started in 1982, at Standard Ogilvy & Mather where his position entailed copy writing and creative aspects. This is where he grew his passion in communications and advertising. He continued this work until 1990, where he moved on to DM9 to become Copy Writer and Creative Director. At this time, Alexandre, obtained a lasting tribute as the “Most Awarded Copywriter” of his time in Brazil. He moved on further to promote best practices for advertising agencies and businesses in Brazil. He became, in 2012, board member for ABAP (Brazilian Association of Advertising Agencies). Gama’s own company he created in 1999, Neogama, was the first advertising agency in Brazil to win the esteemed award of “Lion in the Cannes” Festival in there first year of existence. Gama, by 2016, won 23 of these prestigious awards for his creativity and forward thinking.

Being in the advertising business for 15+ years, Gama was able to also pursue his passion in music. His music business, he launched in 2014 is called VIOLAB. This endeavor of Gama’s, allowed him to promote the best acoustic Brazilian guitar players and musicians. This was done, through his various YouTube and recording studio platforms. During this time, he was also invited to a prestigious event at the Brazilian Art Museum to show his work, this was the only event of this type in Brazil. Alexandre Gama was truly a man of many talents.